James DeGale
Encyclopedia
He is European super middleweight champion
James Frederick DeGale MBE
(born 3 February 1986) is an English boxer and Olympic gold medalist. He was born in Harlesden
, London. He started amateur boxing
at the Trojan club at the age of 10 before moving to Dale Youth boxing club. As a boy he soon acquired the nickname Chunky a name that has followed him throughout his career and to this day he is known as James ‘Chunky’ DeGale.
The southpaw Londoner fights as a switchhitter. At the Commonwealth Games 2006 he won Bronze when he lost to Jarrod Fletcher
.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.
in the Middleweight boxing event, winning the gold medal. In the quarter finals he beat a former Olympic gold medalist from Athens (Bakhtiyar Artayev
) and in the semi-final once again beat the late Irishman Darren Sutherland
(prior to this latest meeting the boxers had fought five times with Sutherland winning four and DeGale only one). In the final DeGale won a scrappy and bad tempered affair against the Cuban Emilio Correa who was deducted two points in the first round for biting DeGale's shoulder.
and Billy Joe Saunders
. The contract they agreed is rumoured to be worth around £1.5 million.
On 28 February 2009 DeGale made his professional debut against Georgia
boxer Vepkhia Tchilaia, winning the fight on points 40–36. DeGale came in for a mixed reaction, being booed off after being taken the distance by the little-known Georgian. However DeGale has been backed by many, as the Georgian was boxing extremely defensively. Five more victories followed before DeGale won his first title, the WBA
International super-middleweight title, defeating Sam Horton by 5th round TKO.
On 18 September, 2010, DeGale made the first defence of his WBA
title against fellow Brit Carl Dilks, gaining victory by TKO after just two minutes, fifty-four seconds of the first round.
Frank Warren revealed that DeGale would challenge Paul Smith for the British Super Middleweight title on Warren's blockbuster event in Liverpool, set for 11th December at the Echo Arena. On the huge bill includes fellow Olympians; Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders, Nathan Cleverly
and Kell Brook. On 11 December, DeGale went on to beat Paul Smith via ninth round TKO in order to become the British Super-Middleweight Champion.
On 21 May 2011, DeGale lost a close points decision to George Groves
. The judges scored the bout 115–115, 115–114, 115–114.
DeGale signed a contract to face Polish, European champion Piotr Wilczewski
on the 15th October.
On the 15th of October 2011, DeGale beat Piotr Wilczewski
by majority decision to win the European Super-Middleweight title in the Echo Arena Liverpool.
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponnent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Round
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Win
|11-1
|align=left|
Poland Piotr Wilczewski
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|10–1
|align=left|
England George Groves
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–0
|align=left|
France Alpay Kobal
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left| England Paul Smith
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–0
|align=left| England Carl Dilks
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–0
|align=left| England Sam Horton
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–0
|align=left| England Matthew Barr
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–0
|align=left|
Wales Nathan King
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–0
|align=left| England Ally Morrison
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–0
|align=left|
Republic of Ireland Ciaran Healy
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0
|align=left|
Czech Republic Jindrich Kubin
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left|
Georgia (country) Vepkhia Tchilaia
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
James Frederick DeGale MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 February 1986) is an English boxer and Olympic gold medalist. He was born in Harlesden
Harlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
, London. He started amateur boxing
Amateur boxing
Amateur boxing is practised at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...
at the Trojan club at the age of 10 before moving to Dale Youth boxing club. As a boy he soon acquired the nickname Chunky a name that has followed him throughout his career and to this day he is known as James ‘Chunky’ DeGale.
The southpaw Londoner fights as a switchhitter. At the Commonwealth Games 2006 he won Bronze when he lost to Jarrod Fletcher
Jarrod Fletcher
Jarrod Fletcher is an Australian Boxer who won the Commonwealth Games 2006 at Middleweight.- BIOGRAPHY :Jarrod was born in Moe, Victoria on the 20th of October, 1983 & moved with his family to Hervey Bay, Queensland in 1990....
.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.
Amateur career
Degale represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer OlympicsGreat Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The United Kingdom was represented by the British Olympic Association , and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. Britain is one of only five NOCs to have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1896...
in the Middleweight boxing event, winning the gold medal. In the quarter finals he beat a former Olympic gold medalist from Athens (Bakhtiyar Artayev
Bakhtiyar Artayev
Bakhtiyar Karipullauly Artayev is a Kazakh boxer who won the only Gold medal for Kazakhstan in the men's welterweight division at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also the Winner of the Val Barker Trophy for the outstanding boxer of the 2004 Olympics Games...
) and in the semi-final once again beat the late Irishman Darren Sutherland
Darren Sutherland
Darren John Sutherland was an Irish professional boxer from County Meath, Ireland. His amateur career was crowned by a bronze medal for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China....
(prior to this latest meeting the boxers had fought five times with Sutherland winning four and DeGale only one). In the final DeGale won a scrappy and bad tempered affair against the Cuban Emilio Correa who was deducted two points in the first round for biting DeGale's shoulder.
World amateur championships results
2007 (as a middleweight)- Lost to Alfonso BlancoAlfonso Blanco (boxer)Alfonso Blanco Parra is an undefeated Venezuelan boxer in the Light Middleweight division. He was the 2008 Olympian for Venezuela and he also won the Middleweight silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Amateur career:Blanco won the 2006 South America title against Carlos...
(Venezuela) 13–28
Olympic results
2008- Defeated Mohamed HikalMohamed HikalMohamed Hikal is a male boxer from Egypt. He is best known for having won a bronze medal in the men's middleweight division at the 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Career:...
(Egypt) 13–4 - Defeated Shawn EstradaShawn EstradaShawn Estrada is an undefeated Mexican American professional boxer in the Super Middleweight division and was a U.S...
(USA) 11–5 - Defeated Bakhtiyar ArtayevBakhtiyar ArtayevBakhtiyar Karipullauly Artayev is a Kazakh boxer who won the only Gold medal for Kazakhstan in the men's welterweight division at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also the Winner of the Val Barker Trophy for the outstanding boxer of the 2004 Olympics Games...
(Kazakhstan) 8–3 - Defeated Darren SutherlandDarren SutherlandDarren John Sutherland was an Irish professional boxer from County Meath, Ireland. His amateur career was crowned by a bronze medal for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China....
(Ireland) 10–3 - Defeated Emilio Correa (Cuba) 16–
Professional career
On 2 December 2008, he agreed a deal with promoter Frank Warren to become professional along with Frankie GavinFrankie Gavin (boxer)
Frankie Raymond Gavin is a British professional boxer from Birmingham who, whilst an amateur, won the gold medal at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships to become English boxing's first ever World Amateur champion....
and Billy Joe Saunders
Billy Joe Saunders
Billy Joe Saunders is a British professional boxer, who after a distinguished junior career qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.-Career:...
. The contract they agreed is rumoured to be worth around £1.5 million.
On 28 February 2009 DeGale made his professional debut against Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
boxer Vepkhia Tchilaia, winning the fight on points 40–36. DeGale came in for a mixed reaction, being booed off after being taken the distance by the little-known Georgian. However DeGale has been backed by many, as the Georgian was boxing extremely defensively. Five more victories followed before DeGale won his first title, the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
International super-middleweight title, defeating Sam Horton by 5th round TKO.
On 18 September, 2010, DeGale made the first defence of his WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
title against fellow Brit Carl Dilks, gaining victory by TKO after just two minutes, fifty-four seconds of the first round.
Frank Warren revealed that DeGale would challenge Paul Smith for the British Super Middleweight title on Warren's blockbuster event in Liverpool, set for 11th December at the Echo Arena. On the huge bill includes fellow Olympians; Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders, Nathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...
and Kell Brook. On 11 December, DeGale went on to beat Paul Smith via ninth round TKO in order to become the British Super-Middleweight Champion.
On 21 May 2011, DeGale lost a close points decision to George Groves
George Groves
George Robert Groves was a film sound pioneer who played a significant role in developing the technology that brought sound to the silent screen. He is also credited as being Hollywood’s first ‘sound man’; he was the recording engineer on the seminal Al Jolson picture, The Jazz Singer , as well as...
. The judges scored the bout 115–115, 115–114, 115–114.
DeGale signed a contract to face Polish, European champion Piotr Wilczewski
Piotr Wilczewski
Piotr Wilczewski is a Polish professional boxer. He was EBU champion.In March 2011, he defeated Amin Asikainen by TKO in round 11 and in doing so he became the EBU European super-middleweight champion....
on the 15th October.
On the 15th of October 2011, DeGale beat Piotr Wilczewski
Piotr Wilczewski
Piotr Wilczewski is a Polish professional boxer. He was EBU champion.In March 2011, he defeated Amin Asikainen by TKO in round 11 and in doing so he became the EBU European super-middleweight champion....
by majority decision to win the European Super-Middleweight title in the Echo Arena Liverpool.
Professional boxing record
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|11 Wins (8 knockouts), 1 Defeat, 0 Draws|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponnent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Round
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Win
|11-1
|align=left|
Poland Piotr WilczewskiPiotr Wilczewski
Piotr Wilczewski is a Polish professional boxer. He was EBU champion.In March 2011, he defeated Amin Asikainen by TKO in round 11 and in doing so he became the EBU European super-middleweight champion....
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|10–1
|align=left|
England George GrovesGeorge Groves (boxer)
George William Groves is an English professional boxer. Currently managed and trained by Adam Booth and promoted by Frank Warren, he is a former amateur champion and the reigning British and Commonwealth super middleweight titleholder....
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–0
|align=left|
France Alpay Kobal|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left|
England Paul Smith|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–0
|align=left|
England Carl Dilks|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–0
|align=left|
England Sam Horton|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–0
|align=left|
England Matthew Barr|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–0
|align=left|
Wales Nathan King|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–0
|align=left|
England Ally Morrison|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–0
|align=left|
Republic of Ireland Ciaran Healy|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0
|align=left|
Czech Republic Jindrich Kubin|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left|
Georgia (country) Vepkhia Tchilaia|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|